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The Wasp Factory
The Wasp Factory
Iain M. Banks | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
4
7.4 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
✭✭ 2 Stars

This was a very difficult book for me to rate so I rated it purely based on 'personal enjoyment'.
Yes the book was dark and clever and so well written but the enjoyment factor just wasn't there for me. Something I can not handle to read about is the abusing, torturing and killing of animals and this book was full of that. I could read an endless amount of books about the killing of people (slashers, thrillers,crime etc.) and not really be phased much but if animals are involved in it then my enjoyment level drops dramatically. I wish I had read other reviews first about this book so then I would of known what this book contains and wouldn't of read it, but I didn't as I worry about stumbling across spoilers.
An excellent look into the minds of the mentally disturbed and a truly crazy ride...it just wasn't for me.
  
From the creative story to the detailed artwork, Daria Song has brought us another fantastic coloring book. Continuing with the dream style story and beautiful pages, this book is sure to keep me occupied for hours. Coloring has becoming a peaceful and quiet outlet for me over the past year or so. Expressing creativity on paper through color is one of my favorite things to do. If you have not experienced the joy of putting your pencil to page, Daria's series is an excellent place to start. I enjoy the intricate detail of her work. I have always had an obsession with stars and Daria's stars have a very unique personality which I love. Purchase your copy today and be whisked into a magical world of dreams and color.

I received a free copy of The Night Voyage from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
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Larry Eisner (2082 KP) rated Bible in Apps

Jan 10, 2019  
Bible
Bible
Reference, Book
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
App Rating
Reading plans (2 more)
Easy and free access to MANY versions
Community support/inclusion is wonderful
People will think I’m speaking only of the books, not the app. (0 more)
It’s an honestly well made app with many features.
Lemme be absolutely clear. I’m a fan of the Bible, but that’s NOT what I’m reviewing here. I’m reviewing the YouVersion Bible app. And frankly, it’s great.

It is easy to navigate, completely free, has copious amounts of versions to view for study and comparison, has multiple language options, links to excellent resources, community support, reading motivation, text graphic creation, study and reading plans, as well as video resources and any text has links to community resources as well (notes, commentary, etc).

As far as any application for the Bible goes, it really cannot be beat. It’s a wonderful and again, completely free(!) application that works as promised and delivers an experience so in depth yet so navigable, as nothing else I’ve seen.
  
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Andrea D (21 KP) rated After The Woods in Books

Jan 10, 2019  
After The Woods
After The Woods
Kim Savage | 2016 | Contemporary, Mystery, Young Adult (YA)
2
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
An excellent beginning only to let you down towards the end.
When I started reading this book I was absolutely enthralled it held so much promise and so much seeming darkness to uncover then it turned into a crap fest. It's as if the author decided at about 80% that they had completely changed their mind about what was happening to Liv and Julia and not for the better either. I wanted this book to be about the psychopath it promised it was instead you get emotional abuse and an obvious attachment disorder and the awful line "We're both brave" no you're fucking not you're a twat who abandoned her so called best friend to a potential murderer.

Just don't waste your time it sucks you in and then gives up on you and makes you hate it for having invested so much of yourself in a book that promises to be all that and more.
  
The first thing I would say about this book is that it is a slow burner. For probably the first third of the book, you are wondering about whether to carry on or not (the first time you read it at least!) but if you can stick with it, it does become worth your while.

The history and mythology that GGK has put into the Fionavar Tapestry are things that dreams are made of - certainly for every Fantasy fan.

One of the common complaints about this book seems to be that the five friends adjust too well to their 'new' world. My reply is that it's amazing how normal things can seem to be when you're with friends :o)

This book is an excellent introduction to the series and also sets the second book up very nicely.

This trilogy, along with Tigana by the same author, firmly remains on my Favourites shelf!
  
Titan A.E. (2000)
Titan A.E. (2000)
2000 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi
Stellar story (2 more)
Excellent vocal cast
Early Joss Whedon writing credit
The contrast between the 2D character animation and the 3D environments is incredibly jarring (1 more)
The music is hailed as "groundbreaking" by the DVD case, but is just kinda meh for me.
Very fun, but visually dated
I remember loving this movie when I was younger, and on rewatching it today I still do, but I have to admit that the visuals haven't aged well. The story is great, if occasionally predictable, and most of the characters are quirky and unique (Gune is a personal favorite!) If they'd restrained themselves to using the early CGI to animate the villainous Drej, a race of aliens made of pure energy, that would have probably aged okay. Those scenes still work. But the fact that all the mechanical elements, ships and such, even spacesuited characters are animated in decidedly dated CGI pulls you out of the narrative pretty fast.
  
American Horror Story  - Season 2
American Horror Story - Season 2
2012 | Horror
So much gorier and darker than the first series, Asylum chronicles the events of Bloody-face, the twisted fictional serial killer of the 1960s. This is the story underlying all events in the series, but there is so much more going on. We are treated to a glimpse into the abuse and disgust of people suffering mental health problems, and the supposed treatments being dreamt up to deal with their issues.
The series also has aspects of demonic possession, alien abduction and so much more.
While there were some aspects I felt were left open (the alien abduction for one), and others were not explored quite as much as it could have been, I feel this should be seen as more of an anthology series, where a number of stories of mental illness all intertwine to tell one thrilling story.
An exciting, but at times uncomfortable to watch series with some excellent acting and writing.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Ross (3284 KP) Jan 15, 2019

Thanks. In true rock and roll fashion, I watch this when I am ironing (pausing when one of the kids comes in the room) so it will take me quite some time to get through it all. I love the idea behind it though, exploring fresh ideas each series but with a number of the same cast members so you instantly feel like you know some of them.

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Amy Christmas (171 KP) Jan 15, 2019

Completely agree. Love the premise of it all.

Herland, the Yellow Wall-Paper, and Selected Writings
Herland, the Yellow Wall-Paper, and Selected Writings
Charlotte Perkins Gilman | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Feminist text (0 more)
Clunky (0 more)
This was both fun and grim
This was an interesting book and for all you feminists out there, quite amusing. The author covered a range of issues which are still relevant today such as, the way food is grown, cultivated and harvested, the values of being kind to the earth. It covered the way that children are educated. There is an excellent piece on religion which I personally found amusing, being an atheist. Considering the time period in which the novella was written, this book is like a mirror on society, especially a patriarchal society.
The sentence structure is clunky, annoyingly long but typical of late Victorian work. The ending is frustrating as it is left wide open without answers. Yet putting that aside, I really liked it. It is not my ideal female utopia, but I am sure for Perkins, in an oppressive male dominated society, it was.
  
A Deathly Silence (DCI Helen Lavery #3)
A Deathly Silence (DCI Helen Lavery #3)
Jane Isaac | 2019 | Crime, Thriller
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Authentic, plausible and engaging
Having read a few of Jane Isaac's books and thoroughly enjoyed them, I had no hesitation in picking this despite not having read the previous 2 in the series and I wasn't disappointed.

This is an excellent police procedural/crime thriller with believable and, mostly, likeable characters and a completely absorbing story line. Unlike some police procedural stories which, I feel, try to include different threads and mini-plots within the central story which can cause confusion, this one had a main theme and stuck to it which made the story unravel and develop naturally; this made is seem more authentic, plausible and engaging.

There is plenty of action and twists to keep any reader engaged and I definitely recommend to anyone ... in fact, I am happy to recommend any of Jane's books; you won't be disappointed.

Thank you to Legend Press and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
  
Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard (1988)
1988 | Action
The best action film ever?
When it comes to action films, Die Hard really can't be beaten. I'd even go so far as saying it's the best action film of all time.

 It has everything that makes for an excellent action film. A likeable protagonist in John McClane, who's a pretty awesome action hero that Bruce Willis was born to play. Alan Rickman too is fantastic and strangely likeable as the bad but you still love him villain Hans Gruber. The film itself may be a little cheesy at times, but after a slow but necessary build up it really gets into it's action stride and is full of some brilliantly funny lines and moments too. For an 80s action film as well, it looks surprisingly good.

Whilst I'm not convinced this is a Christmas film (being set on Christmas eve doesnt mean it has festive feels!), it's still a hugely entertaining action flick and one that more modern films can't match up to.